Marburg virus disease (MVD) has been detected in two men in Ghana, both of whom died after seeking treatment late last month.
The Ebola-like disease, which is severe in humans and often fatal, was confirmed as the cause of death by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Sunday.
Here's what we know so far:
- The patients, who were unrelated, showed symptoms including diarrhoea, fever, nausea and vomiting.
- They were taken to a district hospital but later died.
- More than 90 contacts of the two cases have been identified and are being monitored.
- It is the second outbreak of MVD in West Africa after a case was confirmed in Guinea last year.
- That was the only case recorded in the 2021 outbreak, which lasted five weeks.
What is the Marburg virus?
It's viral, haemorrhagic fever in the same family as Ebola.
It's highly infectious and was initially detected in 1967 after outbreaks in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany and Belgrade in Serbia.
The WHO says those outbreaks were linked to laboratory work using African green monkeys, which had been imported from Uganda.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms may include:
- fever
- headache
- malaise
- diarrhoea
- abdominal pain
- nausea
- vomiting
- lethargy
- muscle aches and pains
- non-itchy rash
- bloody stools
- vomiting blood
- bleeding from the nose, gums, and vagina
- spontaneous bleeding at venepuncture sites
- inflammation of the testicles
- confusion, irritability and aggression.
According to the WHO, the average fatality rate for the virus is about 50 per cent.
The WHO's data from past outbreaks shows case fatality rates varying between 24 and 88 per cent, which takes into account cases of different strains and treatments.
Most Marburg deaths occur between eight and nine days after the onset of symptoms, according to the WHO, usually after the patient suffers "severe blood loss" and goes into shock.
How does it spread?
Human-to-human transmission occurs though direct contact — via broken skin or mucous membranes — with blood, secretions or other bodily fluid of people infected with the virus.
It also spreads via contact with surfaces contaminated with these fluids.
The WHO says it can spread via contaminated clothing and bedding used by a MVD patient and burial ceremonies that involve direct contact with the body of a deceased patient.
However, a type of fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus, is considered to be the the natural host of the virus.
"Initially, human MVD infection results from prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus bat colonies," a WHO fact sheet says.
"The Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through human-to-human transmission."
How is it treated?
The WHO says there's "no proven treatment available" for MVD, with no vaccine or approved antiviral treatments.
However, a patient's chances of survival can be improved by treatment of specific symptoms and rehydration via oral or intravenous fluids.
The WHO says treatments involving blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies are being evaluated.
ABC/Wires
